Degree in Chemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1985), completed MSc (1987) and PhD (1989) in Biological Sciences (Biophysics) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and held Post Doctorate at the Department of Physics of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA, 1992-1994). Hired as Assistant Professor in 1990, he became Professor of the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at UFRJ in 1999. From 2014, he also became Professor of the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, UFRJ. Is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) and the Brazilian National Order of Scientific Merit (Commander Class), fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trust Latin American Program in Biomedical Sciences and International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1997-2006). He was Vice-Chairman (2003-2005) and Chairman (2006-2008) of the Pan American Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PABMB). Is a member of the Editorial Boards of the journals Biochemical Journal (2014-), Journal of Neurochemistry (2012), Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2016-), Journal of Neurodegenerative Diseases (2013-), Dementia & Neuropsychologia (2008-) and Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Monitoring Disease (2015-), and was a member of the Editorial Boards of FEBS Journal (2006 to 2012) and PLoS One (2008-2014). Has expertise in Biochemistry / Biophysics / Neurobiology, and his current main focus of interest lies in studies of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease.